Political Dilemmas at Work: How to Maintain Your Integrity and Further Your Career

Decide How You Are Going to Adapt

An important career skill is perfecting what you are good at. As perfection is reached, these skills become automatic, and you will stop thinking about how you execute them. You’ll be on autopilot. But now that things are suddenly going wrong, you need to take a good look at what you need to change. When you have considered the evidence and spoken to your stakeholders, you can start to make decisions about what you need to do differently.

Some of this may be simple. You may have discovered that you need to present your business case in a different format. Or perhaps you need to include a new step in your process. These things are quite straightforward once you have identified them.

You may need to change your approach. This could present more of a challenge to you, particularly if you have to adjust your natural style. Changes here could include presenting a friendlier approach to a certain group of people. If tough action is your normal style, it may take some time to modify your behavior. Don’t shy away from the possibility that you may need to learn new skills. You could make use of your organization’s people development team or, perhaps, engage a coach to help you adapt your behavior.

You may also need to engage in new activities. In political environments, networking and socializing with powerful people are essential skills. Since you’re in the success trap, perhaps you have not invested enough time in these activities. This ...